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Arabidopsis arenosa (Brassicaceae) from a lead–zinc waste heap in southern Poland – a plant with high tolerance to heavy metals

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Abstract

The morphological traits and tolerance to heavy metals (zinc, cadmium and lead) of two populations of Arabidopsis arenosa (Brassicaceae) were compared. One population was from a zinc–lead waste heap in Bolesław near Olkusz (southern Poland), the other one from the Kampinoski National Park (central Poland). Biometric measurements were done in the field and repeated after cultivation under controlled conditions (garden soil, phytotron chamber). Significant heritable morphological differences between the two populations were found. The plants from the waste-heap are smaller in comparison with the reference population, and their leaves are narrower, thicker with fewer trichomes, indicating. genetic adaptation to xerothermic conditions. The level of tolerance to heavy metals (zinc, cadmium, and lead) was compared by the root test. Very high tolerance to the three metals tested was found in the waste-heap population. Its tolerance exceeded that of four other predominant plant species populations growing on the same waste heap that had previously been tested in our laboratory. We consider the waste-heap population of A. arenosa to be a very suitable ecotype for the study of heavy metal tolerance mechanisms in plants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Henk Schat, Department of Ecology and Physiology of Plants, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for precious comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Ecotoxicology, Institute of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096, Warsaw, Poland

    E. Przedpełska & M. Wierzbicka

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  1. E. Przedpełska
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  2. M. Wierzbicka
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Correspondence to M. Wierzbicka.

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Responsible Editor: SE: Henk Schat.

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Przedpełska, E., Wierzbicka, M. Arabidopsis arenosa (Brassicaceae) from a lead–zinc waste heap in southern Poland – a plant with high tolerance to heavy metals. Plant Soil 299, 43–53 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9359-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9359-5

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